If you are wondering what the Cinch is, it’s a home binding system. No more having to run to the store to buy mini-albums for this project or that, since the Cinch is a one stop, do it all! And guess what? It really is a cinch. (I had to try it out for myself!)

I admit I was a little intimidated by the sparsity of the directions. Luckily there is a little thing called the Internet, which is filled with video tutorials and after watching a couple of videos I was ready to roll.

For those of you that aren’t video watchers, Amber does an amazing job with some step by step photos on how to create your own mini-albums using the Cinch.

Step 1 – Insert your paper into the machine and press the handle down to punch.

Step 2 – If your paper is longer than 6 inches you’ll then need to slide the guide out and move the paper all the way to the left. Press down the black alignment peg on the side to hold the papers in place . Pull out the first peg after the end of the paper. In this case it is peg 5. Press the handle again to complete the punching. Pull up the alignment peg and push back the peg.

Step 3 – Repeat the above steps for your cover.

Step 4 – Place the binding wire on the hooks to the right of the machine. Place sheets onto hooks, followed by the front cover, and then the back cover. Placing the back cover on top will help to hide the seam of the wire when you are done. Remove the wire and pages and place them at the back of the machine under the cinching bar. Make sure you set the dial with the correct wire size. The opening of the wire should be against the machine. Slowly press down the handle to close the wires. Slide the book and repeat if the book is longer than the cinching bar.

Step 5 – Snip off any remaining wire. You just made a book!

Now look and see the amazing creations that Amber made!

Kyla also has some pretty great tips and things to avoid when first learning how to use the Cinch.

Decide which side of the page you are binding and then leave about a half inch gap without any embellishments or words or you risk punching holes though them. I had to rearrange, un-stick and re-glue a couple of my pages so that only the base patterned paper was hole punched.

Make sure when punching the holes to have your paper pushed back into the Cinch as far as it will snugly go. If not you end up with an edge with half holes

Be confident in your hole punching and make sure the pages stay in place while you are punching, or you end up with a page with double punched holes. It’s no big deal, you can still use the pages but it helps to push the lever down smoothly, fairly quickly and confidently.

When binding, go slow! I found the slower I pushed the bindings together the more circular in shape they stayed. When I went too quickly they would turn out more oval looking, which is also great if you’re looking for a more oval binding.

Kyla made an festive advent calendar to help count down the days until Christmas.

I have to admit, I was so inspired by these girls’ creations that I had to give the Cinch a go for myself. I made a little “Dear Santa” journal for a friend for her to document the wish lists of her kiddos over the years. I think it would be so much fun to have as the time passes to see what was once upon a time the “must have” item. Now all I have to do is make the pages and send it on its way.

Really and truly the Cinch is an amazing tool and addition to any crafters collection. Not only can this tool be used to bind mini albums, but it’s great for

calendars

recipe books

office presentations

school projects

journals

any binding project your lil’ mind can come up with!

Thanks again to Amber and Kyla for making today’s blog post such a Cinch!